will contest

Dearest Reader,

After going through your query, I understand your query and I would like to answer your query.

In such cases as yours, where there is a failure by the plaintiff regarding the submission of the list and name of the witnesses or evidence, within a reasonable time, you can take following measures to address this delay.

Firstly, you can ask the court to close the plaintiff’s evidence and proceed further with the evidence that already exists as Order XVIII Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, states that parties in question must submit their evidence in proper order and within the time specified. And non-submission of the evidence within four months, despite the directives of the court, is non-compliance. You can make a good point here.

Further, you can also file an application as per Order XVII Rule 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure seeking the closure of the plaintiff’s evidence stage because of the delay. Along with this, you can also argue that the other party is merely wasting the time of the judiciary as they haven’t exercised due diligence. 

Referring to the landmark judgment of K.K. Velusamy v. N. Palanisamy (2011) can be a good point as this case tells us about the judicial discipline regarding the submission of evidence. In your situation, the other party (if there isn’t any reason) is wasting the time of the system by making unjustifiable delays.  

This has also been discussed in the case of Raja Ram Prasad Yadav v. State of Bihar (2013) that the courts can proceed if one party is not able to submit the evidence on time without any particular reason.

I suggest you formally draft an application, formally requesting the court to close the plaintiff’s evidence stage and proceed with the existing evidence.

I hope I was able to provide you with the answer to your doubt, if you need further clarification, please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn. (www.linkedin.com/in/pankhuri-rastogi-9221b2289)

Thank You.